Change
by Scarpaw
Summary: Change- ever constant, always flowing, always occurring. Nothing can stop it from happening, no matter how hard we try. All we can do is keep moving forward, and not stop walking. Because while change is always there, we will always be together.


Yup. Another plot bunny born amidst all the clutter I have to do. This is the product of about two weeks hard labor. It's more of a D,Gray-Man one-shot than a x-over between the two, but I placed it as that, because of two reasons:

a) That's how the fic started out

b) [and _please_ don't quote me on this] This may [or may not] have a multi-chap continuation. [depends on how well it's received, my free time, etc., etc...]

This fic came about from the fact that we don't know all that much about Mana or Neah; just the fact that they were brothers, and everything else that we've found out in recent chapters [I'm trying to be nice and not give off spoilers].

So, my mind wondered, was Mana always a Pierrot? Or did he do something before that?

And, seeing as my most recent works have been Harry Potter x-overs, I placed Mana as a teacher, at Hogwarts.

I left the characters for the Harry Potter side vague, because I didn't want to set a definite time line. It's a chance for you to use your imaginations and fill in the blanks! ^_^

**Warnings[?]: Umm... Slight OOCness (maybe? seeing as we don't really have much characterization for these characters...) and Slight Spoilers if you aren't up-to-date in the Manga [as of Ch. 205]**

Enjoy!

[Also, the last two parts are meant to be the way they are, so please don't leave rude comments on it.]

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or D,Gray-Man.**

_**Change**_

_The first time they met the Professor's brother…_

…The girls swooned. The guys groaned. Everybody wondered how the Professor could be so _old_ [in their eyes] and have such a _young_ brother, who was around their own age. They all wondered why he seemed to look down upon them, and why he seemed to have an air about him that screamed that he wasn't normal.

He had slammed the door to their Defense Against the Dark Art's classroom so boldly and loudly that it was a wonder that the snarky old caretaker of the castle didn't come running at once to attempt to place the kid in detention. He had walked down the center of the room- girls would argue that he had floated, as if on air, and guys would argue that it was more like how Muggle street thugs would walk -and asked [though it was more of a demand] to speak with the professor.

"Alone, without these brats," He had added, waving his hand a little condescendingly as he perched himself on the corner of the Professor's desk, crossing his legs as if he were sitting on a throne and not a desk.

The Professor scowled at him, and before anybody could blink, the book that had been in the Professor's hand was slammed over the boy's head. He spoke in a tone that students recognized as the one that the Professor saved for scolding and reprimands, before he held him by the ear off the desk and forced him to apologize to the class.

"Ack! Ow, ow! I get it!" The kid had yelped before doing anything. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry dam-" He had gone off as if he had been about to swear, but a glare from the Professor [who everybody knew was big on manners and the like] had him change it right fast "-age my ear, won't you? I think you've gotten the point across already!"

One student finally manages to find the voice to speak, and when her question comes out it gives both men a chuckle.

"A-Are you the Professor's son?" Both of their jaws dropped, but the boy is the first to recover, with a laugh that doesn't seem quite natural and it raises the hair on some of the student's necks.

"Mana? My father?" He gave a laugh that couldn't be called a bark, yet wasn't a chime of bells either. "Don't be silly." His eyes seemed to give off an ethereal glow, and he wore a smile that seemed almost unnatural, but before he could speak again the Professor cut him off.

"Class," He introduced. "This is my younger brother, Neah." They were given a wave that seemed to be more out of courtesy than him actually wanting to do it, and before anything else could be said, a bell tolled, signaling the end of class.

"Essays are due next class!" Mana's voice echoed over the students' conversations, before the door finally swung shut and he turned on his little brother.

He opened his mouth to say something- anything to him, but his words and wisdom and anger failed him as he was enveloped with a hug by his younger brother, which was something that wasn't so freely given since… the _change_ that had occurred all those years back.

Then, just as quickly as he appeared, his little brother disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared.

And Mana simply pretended not to notice the wet spots on the front of his shirt as he called in his next class.

_~~Centuries ago there was a flood, and with that flood came a __**change**~~_

The second time they saw the Professor's brother, was outside of the classroom. He was sitting on a random window ledge in one of the higher towers of the castle. He sat there as if he did it all the time, staring pensively out the window. There was something golden floating around his head that reminded them of a snitch. He was tossing something up and down in his hand and whatever it was, it had a green glow and he seemed to wince every time he caught it.

There were so many questions that floated through their heads, from small to large, that it surprised them with the question that had been asked.

"Does the Headmaster know you're here?" The question was posed, and Neah finally looked up, the object falling from its rote and landing on the sill next to the boy. The golden-snitch like object had stopped its flying and settled itself upon the boys' head. Neah's eyes held a golden edge to them, and looking at him, it was apparent that there was a nasty looking cut across his left cheek.

He blinked once, thinking over the question before answering with a,

"Not to my knowledge. And I'd prefer to keep it that way." It wasn't exactly a threat, but there was an underlying tone in the teens' voice that left the implication.

"Then why are you here?" Neah raised an eyebrow before picking up whatever it had been that he'd been messing with before, slipping it into his pocket.

"What, is it a crime for people to visit relatives here?" He asked casually, giving off the semblance of Innocence. "Funny, you think it'd be welcomed more seeing as it is a boarding school…"

"It's not," Was the answered reply, calculated. "But there's paperwork and other things to go through beforehand! Things aren't completely at peace-!" Neah gave a frown, pensive look on his face once more.

"More than you know…" He mumbled lowly under his breath. Before they could ask another question, though, Neah brushed past them, disappearing down the hall like he had never been there at all.

The golden-not-snitch circled above them for a moment before disappearing down the hall after Neah.

_~~A family of thirteen members survived the flood but that family brought a __**change**~~_

"Take it." Mana had no time to blink before a glowing green chunk was thrown at his face.

"…?" He caught and studied it for a moment. He had only heard of it through Neah's chats during his infrequent visits wherever Mana happened to be at the time, but it couldn't possibly be…

"…Innocence?" With a capital. "Why are you…?

"Just take it." His voice was just shy of a snarl, but looking at the small burns on his younger brother's hands and the way he held his head with one hand. Mana forgave him this one time.

He wasn't quite sure of what he was supposed to do with this 'Innocence' that Neah gave him, but he had a sinking suspicion that he wanted him to hide it somewhere, somewhere so _**they**_ wouldn't be able to get a hold of it.

"Alright," Mana conceded, placing the Innocence in a desk drawer, locking it. "If you don't mind, why…?" Neah gave a bitter smile in response as Mana trailed the question off.

"We can't make it too easy, now can we?" Was the response. "There needs to be at least some of a challenge, otherwise this little _play_ will end far too soon, won't it?"

Looking down at the desk drawer where he had placed the Innocence, Mana couldn't help but agree.

"No, we can't."

And when he looked up again, Neah was gone.

_~~However, before they could start the __**change**__, came an __**unwanted fourteenth**~~_

The third time they met Neah was on Halloween on the following year. He had been sitting in the dungeons, straight across from a suit of armor with a sword and shield. He just sat there, staring at the suit of armor. It was almost like the second time they had met Neah, except the odd snitch-like thing was absent.

"Oh, it's you again." He observed as calmly as one would state the weather, but there was a lingering tone to his voice that stated that he didn't seem too excited by the prospect of talking to them.

"We have names, you know," They bristled, and Neah shrugged.

"Whoever said that I wanted to know your names?" He turned his head away from them quickly, what couldn't almost be called a blush gracing his cheeks. "Knowing your names implies that I want to be _friends_ with you. Which I can't."

They mumbled about themselves things like, "_Such a Slytherin,_" and, "_Sheesh, who said that we wanted to be __**his**__ friends?_"

"Why are you here?" One of them finally asked, and Neah lifted his head back towards them.

"I do believe you asked me that before," Neah smiled graciously.

"You said that you come to visit the Professor," They answered, "But even then, reasons for visiting change almost every time."

"Valid reasoning," Neah agreed. "But, I am here for the _same_ reason as last time. What that reason is though, you won't be finding out."

Standing, Neah placed his hands in his pockets, and walked past them, whistling a dark sounding tune. He only paused a moment, right next to the group, pulling his hand out of his pocket, swiping it across his face, bringing it up as if to push his hair out of his face.

"_Happy Halloween, children._" And his hand was brought back across his face as he left, whistling his song, shivers drawing down their spines.

Years later, the teens would still swear that what they had witnessed on the face of the Professor's brother hadn't been human. Deadened black skin, deadly golden eyes, and a grin that never stopped smiling. The grin of the devil.

The grin of a true Apostle of God.

_~~The Fourteenth had his own plan for the future, and it was a __**change**__ to what the First had~~_

"Don't you think it's dangerous hiding so many here?" Mana stared at the piece of Innocence Neah had given him. It was the fourth piece, and Neah had also just informed him that some of the hiding spots he'd put the Innocence in were 'so horrible that a two-year old could find them, _blindfolded._'

Mana was sure that Neah was being a bit overdramatic, but he was still able to get the point. If Neah was able to find the innocence without Mana telling him where it was, than any of the others that were part of the family that had adopted Neah would be able to find it no problem.

"It's a big enough castle," Neah replied from his perch on one of the student desks, one of his knees drawn up to his chest. "With enough magic within its foundations that the anomalies from four different pieces of Innocence could be put down to just one piece and the rest Innocence." There was an unsaid 'hopefully' that hung off the end of Neah's sentence, but both skillfully ignored it.

"Why don't you place it somewhere students won't be able to stumble upon it by accident?" Neah suggested. "Place some traps around it, or something- you're good at that. Make it so that even if someone finds it, they'll still have a hell of a time getting it." Neah received a sharp look from Mana, but he shrugged it off.

He turned and looked out the window, before speaking once more.

"There's only seven left now." He didn't elaborate, but then again, he didn't need to either. "They haven't caught on yet, but…" _But they could at any moment. _"How attached are you to this school?"

The sudden change in subject was random, and Mana hadn't been prepared for it.

"Why Neah?" But Mana already had a sinking feeling. From what he had managed to dig up on most of the members of the family that had adopted Neah, was the knowledge that there was nothing on the majority of them- like anybody that had known them were dead.

And Mana was no idiot to believe that he was an exception. By all reasons, he should be dead by now by the way that family went by. But, because of his deep connection with his little brother, Neah's refusal to break his biological familial bonds, Mana was still alive.

Neah was asking him if he was prepared to run; run if he had to, in order to protect his life. If he could leave the bonds he made at this school in an instant to protect not only himself but the other halves of those bonds as well.

And Mana only gave Neah a small, sad, smile.

"Let's hope we never have to find out."

_~~His __**change**__ was to make it so the family was back on the true path~~_

On Neah Walker's last visit to Hogwart's castle, an impression was left upon the Defense Against the Dark Arts room that shook the foundations of the castle to the core. Nobody knew the true story, but rumors of it flew for years, up and down the corridors, passed from portrait to portrait and from ghost to ghost.

It was a story that everyone revered as a true myth, for as time went by, nobody knew if the alluded younger brother of the Professor really existed. There had been no record on his working papers of living relatives, and Neah Walker's visits were infrequent, and almost ghost-like. He came and went as he pleased, and hardly anybody saw him if he could help it.

But whatever happened to Mana Walker that fateful day and there after? Not many people know, if any.

What do you think happened?

_~~But before he could make his __**change**__, he was declared a traitor~~_

_Mana had been grading papers when his door slammed open, jerking off the wall. Slightly alarmed, he looked up to see Neah, standing in the doorway of his classroom. He was out of breath, a scratch sliding down his cheek, clothes slightly disheveled, with some tears in spots. It looked almost as if he had been in a fight._

"_You need to go, now!" It was an order, not a suggestion, and there was a tinge of fear laced with a small bit of hysteria in Neah's voice that made Mana's heart stop for a moment._

"_Neah, what are you talking about?" Mana couldn't comprehend. Had he been found? But Hogwarts was a secure castle, how could they have found him? "Jokes like this aren't funny. You should know better."_

"_Aww~!" A girlish voice giggled from behind Mana, and he watched as the little color left in Neah's face quickly vacated, and he could feel his face draining as well. "Isn't this cute?" _

_Mana was slow to turn around, partly from his own fear, and partly because he didn't want to incite a bad reaction from the one behind him._

_Much to his surprise, it was a small girl behind him. She couldn't have been much older than a second year, twelve years old, with the most peculiar dark blue hair and dark amber eyes. A row of crosses adorned her forehead, and she was standing on a floating pink umbrella with a pumpkin top. She looked quite harmless, and if Mana hadn't known better, he would've thought she was harmless._

"_Rhode!" Neah didn't sound too happy about seeing her. "God Damnit, I thought I had more time…"_

"_Aww, Neah~!" The girl, Rhode threw herself from the umbrella to hug his brother. "Don't speak that way." Her lips curled into a demented twist of a smile, before saying,_

"_It'll be easier if you do it yourself." Her voice was low, but it carried through the empty classroom enough that Mana was able to hear. _

"_No!" Neah shoved the girl off of him. "I won't let you hurt him!"_

_He was to die. Whether it was now, or at some point in the future, Mana was going to die. And the Noah family wanted that death now._

"_Neah, if you do this, you'll win Millennie back!" Rhode attempted to reason, clutching onto one of Neah's shirt sleeves. "He'll forgive you! Don't you want to stay as a part of the family?"_

_Neah had been found out; or, at least, he was suspected of being a traitor. They both knew the time was coming, but for it to have been so quickly? That was something that neither brother expected._

_And it appeared that the only way to alleviate the Earl's suspicion and doubt was Mana's death._

_As the older brother, Mana considered it his job to make sure that Neah was happy- and to keep him happy. He had already helped by hiding away Innocence for Neah, so what was his life? Mana had always felt like he wasn't doing enough to help his little brother, and if this could help Neah, even just by a little bit, Mana would give his little brother his life._

"_No," An image of horror adorned Neah's face while Rhode looked disgustingly gleeful. It was then that Mana realized he had been speaking aloud._

_That Neah had heard every word._

"_You idiot!" A sharp stinging sensation erupted on his cheek as stars swarmed around his eyes. It didn't take long for Mana to realize that Neah had slapped him. _

_Indeed, looking up, Neah's face was that intriguing color of not-quite red yet not-quite purple that it got when he was truly mad and worked up. It was a pity that it was such a serious situation; otherwise Mana would have taken a moment to get a good laugh from his brother's visage._

"_You selfish, shallow minded…" Neah's hands, clenched into fists, shook, as he kept his head bowed, hair obscuring his face. Yet, even that couldn't hide from Mana the tears that were pouring down Neah's cheeks like a waterfall as he called his older brother every insult in the book that he could think of._

"…_idiot! How can you be so stupid as to try and throw your own life away?" Mana went and took one step forward towards Neah, but that was all he managed before Neah started speaking once more. _

"_Who the hell exactly do you think I've been fighting for all this time?" Neah's face was strong, but his voice was belying his emotions, laid raw and bare for the audience as it quivered slightly. _

_He tossed his head up high, bearing the tears down his cheeks as a medal, his not-quite storm grey yet not-quite golden eyes staring [metaphorically] down at his older brother._

"_Never stop walking." Neah told his older brother, voice making it out to sound like an order. "Keep moving forward until the day that you die. Don't just give your life up so easily."_

"_When did my little brother become so strong?" Mana laid a hand on Neah's head, looking down at his younger brother. _

"_I have to do this." Mana squeezed his arms around Neah in a tight hug. _

"_I understand," Neah's voice was watery sounding, giving the impression that he was trying his hardest not to cry. "That's why __**I**__ have to do this."_

_And without warning, Mana was pushed through the glowing door of one of the Ark's gates, just moments before Rhode's candles cut through the classroom._

_That was the last time Mana saw Neah._

_That was, until…_

_~~And the First, the Earl of Millennium, had the Fourteenth, Neah Walker, executed for treason against the family for his __**change.**__ And he was never seen again. That is, until…~~_

"…_Is he dead?" The words were thrown so carelessly and flippantly, that Mana almost thought it was one of the other performers of the circus he was at inquiring of his dead dog. Yet, looking over his shoulder, Mana- still in his full clown costume as he had been when he found his small partner that morning- he turned to see that it wasn't one of the performers at all._

_It was a small boy, covered from head to toe in dirt and grime. The clothes he wore looked slightly too big for him, and his left hand was shoved carelessly into one of his pockets. His ratted hair was shoved up into something that resembled a ponytail on his head. Over all, it looked as if the small boy couldn't be more than seven or eight. _

_Yet, the boy, with brown hair- assuming that was its natural color -and storm grey eyes, reminded Mana so much of __**him**__ that his heart was clenching tightly in his chest._

"_He's dead." Mana affirmed for the young boy, eyes staying on the dead dog. The boy paused for a moment, as if observing the dog more._

"…_He's covered in bruises." He finally spoke as Mana started to fill the make-shift grave for the dog._

"_Cosimo probably did it." The young boy finally accused. "'Cause the audience likes you more than him. He hates it when people are better'n him." He didn't hesitate when he plopped himself down on the dirt ground next to Mana as he set a starred ball a top of the grave. "He's got no talent except when it comes to stuff like this."_

"_He was an old dog," Mana reasoned for the boy. Mana knew in all reality that it had probably been Cosimo that did it, but he wasn't about to accuse someone without actual proof. "He wouldn't have lasted much longer anyways. It's alright."_

"_You're not gonna get revenge?" The boy asked, looking side long at Mana, placing a dirt covered hand on an equally dirty cheek._

"_If I do that, I won't get paid," Mana said, clasping his hands together, bowing his head before the small grave. "I'm a newcomer, after all. After Christmas tomorrow, I'll be moving on to somewhere new."_

"_I see…" The boy hummed to himself, though Mana wasn't quite sure if he understood or not. Pausing a moment, Mana remembered something._

"_Who are you, anyway?" He asked the young boy. He'd been talking with him this whole time, and he didn't know the boy's name, or who he was._

"_I do odd jobs around here," The boy answered, looking away from the clown. "I've brought you dinner before."_

_And yes, Mana did faintly remember the young boy. He was such an obscure character and kept to himself so much though, that he hadn't really left that much of an impression on him._

_Mana took another moment to look at the boy closely, and realized what the real reason as to why the boy had been so quick to blame Cosimo for the dog's death [most likely, anyways]._

"_You're covered in bruises as well, aren't you?" Harmless enough question, and Mana wasn't able to stop the natural instinct that took over him, as he licked his finger, wiping away some of the dirt from the boy's face, as if he were his little brother, and not some kid that he hardly knew._

"_Eww! That's gross!" The kid whined, flailing about as he edged his way from Mana._

"_Did Cosimo beat you up as well?" Mana asked, noting how the boy tensed, stiffening as he turned his head away, mumbling,_

"_Shut up."_

_Mana looked at the boy. He wasn't that old, and he knew from most of the circuses that he had been a part of that they didn't employ children the boy's age often- normally it was because the kid of a member of a troupe, or the child had hassled someone enough for something to do that they were given a job within the circus._

"_Don't you have any friends?" Mana asked, voice quieter than it had been before, but this only seemed to enrage the young boy._

"_Shut up!" He snapped, standing, but before he could go any further, he seemed to remember that he was trying to act disinterested and unaffected around the clown, and his impassive demeanor returned. "I don't need any friends. As soon as I'm big and strong enough I'm getting out of here."_

_Mana blinked. Then, he made an offer that surprised even him._

"_How would you like to go with me when I leave tomorrow?"_

_~~**That **__Day~~_

"_I don't like clowns."_

"_That's alright. I don't like children or crowds that don't laugh."_

_And the next day, he was waiting for him._

_Almost as if they had never been separated at all._

_~~When the __**Brothers changed **__themselves and became a __**Foundling Child **__and a__** Pierrot**__.~~_

_**~~Le Fin~~**_

Total word count prior to AN's? 4147. Impressive, if I say so myself... ^_^

I hope it didn't come off to corny, or horrible or anything. It took me forever to write, and I got stuck a lot, especially with the last two parts, with Neah and Mana, then Mana and Allen.

And I know the last part/two between Mana and Allen didn't happen exactly that way, but hey, putting my own spin on it. Stretching it a little.

Please read and review and tell me what you think! ^_^

~~Paw-Chan Signing Out~~

P.S~ Espero que tengais un buen verano! I hope that you all have a good summer! ^_^


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